Americans Need More Help to Move Up

Opinion By: John Morton Read time:
Americans Need More Help to Move Up

Most Americans believe that with discipline and perseverance they can still get ahead. And by one measure, the American Dream is alive and well. Recent data on economic mobility show that two-thirds of Americans have higher incomes compared to their parents. But for others, the Dream remains out of reach.

Surprisingly, America is a less economically mobile society than many European countries. Some 42 percent of children born on the bottom rung are still there a generation later. Almost half of middle-income African-American children fall to the bottom of the income ladder as adults.

Data show that while a child born poor who gets a college education quadruples her chance of making it to the top income levels, she still has less chance of making it than a child born rich who doesn't go to college.

How do we get the dream back on course? A few smart policy choices could make a big difference.

Family may have an impact, but education is still far and away the best bang for the mobility buck.

First, Congress should dramatically simplify the bewildering federal student aid system and streamline the application process. In response to a yawning 26 percentage point chasm between college enrollment and completion rates, Congress should condition federal aid based on which states move students not just into the freshman classroom, but through to graduation day. And lawmakers should extend middle-class tax benefits to lower-income families by making tax credits for tuition and education expenses refundable.

Investments in education may be the best place to start but studies show that reducing the cost of health care, providing incentives to savings and wealth creation, and strengthening job training programs are also important components to improving upward mobility.

Given the receding economic tide and rising constraints on the federal budget, Washington needs to be far more strategic about how it invests in people and shores up the storied American meritocracy.

Americans aren't asking for handouts. They want equality of opportunity and access to the skills and tools to chart their own course toward a better future.

Listen to this commentary on the Marketplace Web site.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.